The present invention relates to a bicycle handlebar assembly and particularly concerns a bicycle handlebar which is intended to be coupled, in use, to at least one auxiliary element in a selectively-adjustable coupling position.
The invention has been developed with particular attention to its possible use on sports bicycles. For this application, the auxiliary elements referred to are normally constituted by:
the so-called steering column or handlebar support provided at its front end with an eyelet which is intended to be traversed by the central part of the handlebar and then tightened (for example, by means of a screw) in a position in which it clamps the handlebar, and
the two brake levers, each provided with a clip which is intended to be fitted onto one of the side parts or handles of the handlebars and then tightened so as to hold the lever in a fixed position relative to the handlebar.
The position in which the auxiliary elements is coupled to the handlebar can be adjusted selectively in dependence on the tastes or habits of the user.
The position in which the handlebar are fixed to the column or support can be adjusted by the rotation of the central part of the handlebars relative to the eyelet of the column or support by means of an orientation movement about an axis which, in use, is generally horizontal.
As regards the brake levers, they can generally be adjusted both in height (the lever can be located at different heights along the side handle of the handlebar) and in horizontal orientation (the horizontal angular position of the levers relative to the handles of the handlebar can be varied)
When the above adjustments are carried out (after the eyelet of the column or support and/or the clips of the brake levers have been loosened) it is generally not very easy, even for an expert user, immediately to find the preferred adjustment position.
This fact becomes particularly important, for example, in sporting competitions, when a cyclist has to change bicycles unexpectedly and receives another whose various parts are not adjusted to his own tastes.
For this purpose, entirely empirical means are sometimes used, for example, the desired position of the brake levers being found by means of pieces of string or wire whose lengths correspond to a reference mounting position.